diff --git a/deployment/proxy/nginx-cms.conf b/deployment/proxy/nginx-cms.conf
index e21659da..a9ed287a 100644
--- a/deployment/proxy/nginx-cms.conf
+++ b/deployment/proxy/nginx-cms.conf
@@ -192,11 +192,10 @@ server {
     keepalive_timeout 30s;
     send_timeout 10s;
 
-    # Abuse limits. Applied per server, not per location, so cached assets and
-    # proxied API routes are all covered by the same budget. nodelay keeps the
-    # 60-request burst responsive: allowed requests pass immediately, only the
-    # excess is rejected with 503 instead of being queued.
-    limit_req zone=cms_req_per_ip burst=60 nodelay;
+    # Abuse limits. Deliberately NOT set at server scope: a room load and a page
+    # load are not the same request profile, so each location picks its own zone.
+    # Locations without an explicit limit_req inherit nothing and are unlimited —
+    # the page/API routes below carry the budget instead.
     limit_conn cms_conn_per_ip 30;
 
     # Traefik health-check route herstellen
@@ -210,6 +209,7 @@ server {
     location ^~ /client/ {
         alias /var/www/Octane/dist/;
         try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
+        limit_req zone=cms_static_per_ip burst=1000 nodelay;
 
         location ~* \.(js|json|css|html|wasm|ttf|woff|woff2|gif|webp|png|jpg|jpeg|svg|dat)$ {
             add_header Cache-Control "public, max-age=2592000";
@@ -223,6 +223,7 @@ server {
     location ^~ /nitro-client/ {
         alias /var/www/Octane/dist/;
         try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
+        limit_req zone=cms_static_per_ip burst=1000 nodelay;
 
         location ~* \.(js|json|css|html|wasm|ttf|woff|woff2|gif|webp|png|jpg|jpeg|svg|dat)$ {
             add_header Cache-Control "public, max-age=2592000";
@@ -265,6 +266,7 @@ server {
         add_header Cache-Control "public, max-age=300, must-revalidate";
         access_log off;
         add_header Cache-Tag "cms-gamedata";
+        limit_req zone=cms_static_per_ip burst=1000 nodelay;
 
         add_header Access-Control-Allow-Origin $http_origin always;
         add_header Access-Control-Allow-Methods "GET, OPTIONS" always;
@@ -280,6 +282,7 @@ server {
         add_header Cache-Control "public, max-age=3600, must-revalidate";
         access_log off;
         add_header Cache-Tag "cms-gamedata";
+        limit_req zone=cms_static_per_ip burst=1000 nodelay;
 
         add_header Access-Control-Allow-Origin $http_origin always;
         add_header Access-Control-Allow-Methods "GET, OPTIONS" always;
@@ -454,6 +457,7 @@ server {
     # ─── Hoofd-routering ───
     location / {
         proxy_pass http://cms_app;
+        limit_req zone=cms_req_per_ip burst=60 nodelay;
         proxy_http_version 1.1;
         proxy_set_header Host $host;
         proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
diff --git a/deployment/proxy/nginx.conf b/deployment/proxy/nginx.conf
index dae1800f..0aba6433 100644
--- a/deployment/proxy/nginx.conf
+++ b/deployment/proxy/nginx.conf
@@ -44,10 +44,17 @@ http {
     client_header_buffer_size 1k;
     large_client_header_buffers 4 8k;
 
-    # Rate limiting per client IP. The Nitro client fetches gamedata and icons in
-    # bursts when booting a room, so the burst is deliberately generous: it caps
-    # sustained floods without punishing a normal room load.
+    # Rate limiting per client IP.
+    #
+    # Two zones, because a room load and a page load are not the same thing.
+    # Loading a Nitro room fires several hundred gamedata icons in one burst;
+    # at the page rate that produced 503s on real players. Static assets
+    # therefore get their own, much higher allowance. These are small immutable
+    # files, so a request rate is not what protects them anyway — nginx already
+    # serves them with must-revalidate, and the CMS upstream stays behind
+    # cms_req_per_ip for the expensive routes.
     limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=cms_req_per_ip:10m rate=30r/s;
+    limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=cms_static_per_ip:10m rate=1000r/s;
     limit_conn_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=cms_conn_per_ip:10m;
 
     # Blue/green cutover: ci-deploy.sh writes the active upstream here, and